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[Victor Omega]

I'm a professional photographer and yet it pains me to say that Smartphone have surpassed SLR, DSLR, Mirror less cameras in terms of user experience, accessibility and is on par in some sense to quality (given that most photos are viewed on screens and not of phyical prints)

I'm also a big techy and what bothers me is the constant push from phone maker of the camera. It more important than making calls.


We'll never be satisfied with camera improvements.


Or.....


Have phone makers realize that Smartphone tech has peaked and the only way to create excitement is another camera bump.


Maybe what consumers really want is an always connected camera device that t occasionally make phone calls, but Smartcamera doesn't seem profitable

 

[Chankoras]

I'm a professional photographer and yet it pains me to say that Smartphone have surpassed SLR, DSLR, Mirror less cameras in terms of user experience, accessibility and is on par in some sense to quality (given that most photos are viewed on screens and not of phyical prints)

I'm also a big techy and what bothers me is the constant push from phone maker of the camera. It more important than making calls.


We'll never be satisfied with camera improvements.


Or.....


Have phone makers realize that Smartphone tech has peaked and the only way to create excitement is another camera bump.


Maybe what consumers really want is an always connected camera device that t occasionally make phone calls, but Smartcamera doesn't seem profitable

Maybe convenience and accessibility, not user experience, I think the ergonomics and controls of a camera still better.
Cameras became a very important part of the narcissist, profile building, spectacle broadcasting tool of the the new era of technology, making calls is secondary.

 

[nush]

I'm a professional photographer and yet it pains me to say that Smartphone have surpassed SLR, DSLR, Mirror less cameras in terms of user experience, accessibility and is on par in some sense to quality (given that most photos are viewed on screens and not of phyical prints)

I'm also a big techy and what bothers me is the constant push from phone maker of the camera. It more important than making calls.


We'll never be satisfied with camera improvements.


Or.....


Have phone makers realize that Smartphone tech has peaked and the only way to create excitement is another camera bump.


Maybe what consumers really want is an always connected camera device that t occasionally make phone calls, but Smartcamera doesn't seem profitable

Mass market "Good enough" has been a thing for decades. What needs to happen is DSLR camera makers need to up their game, but they won't becuse they don't know how to or why they need to or even understand how mass market photography works these days.

They are selling overpriced products to whales creating content to be looked at on small screens.

I never went the DSLR route, I stuck to compact digital for it's price, convenience and my guerilla/candid photography style. Smartphone photography is basically "Push button, make shit picture good" with no skill.

 

[BigBooper]

I think there's less processing overhead required to upgrade the camera, so it's an easy bulletpoint. It doesn't really require more memory or processing capability, but you can still add extra Ks to your photos, it might just take a little longer to process.

It's much more expensive and difficult to upgrade the processor, screen resolution, battery tech, etc.

 

[The Pleasure]

I've been kicking my sony nex-6 mirrorless for a while. When ot comes to detail, my note 10 is easier and quicker but not as good. But lenses and external flashes and tri pods give a lot of utility.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

I have a feeling AI is going to turn photography on its head and make DSLRs pointless. If I can somehow play the original FF7 with upscaled backgrounds that magically unearth details you couldn't possibly see in the original image, then photos with actual resolution should be cake to enhance.

 

[INC]

Phone camera is only meant for upclose shots and selfies

Why do they need to get better?

 

[TrueLegend]

I'm a professional photographer and yet it pains me to say that Smartphone have surpassed SLR, DSLR, Mirror less cameras in terms of user experience, accessibility and is on par in some sense to quality (given that most photos are viewed on screens and not of phyical prints)

I'm also a big techy and what bothers me is the constant push from phone maker of the camera. It more important than making calls.


We'll never be satisfied with camera improvements.


Or.....


Have phone makers realize that Smartphone tech has peaked and the only way to create excitement is another camera bump.


Maybe what consumers really want is an always connected camera device that t occasionally make phone calls, but Smartcamera doesn't seem profitable

I guess you are an amateur then. The simple answer is......dynamic range. You are on point about how the end result is now limited to smartphones rather than billboards but even with the best smartphones out there, the lack of dynamic range is immediate. More room for Quality Crop is also a big factor.

 

[acm2000]

There's only so small you can make a decent set of lenses and only so big of a sensor you can fit in a phone, cameras will always win.

A phone is an all in one device that we all carry with us at all times, it fills many needs at once.

 

[T8SC]

I won't be content until I can see Io, Europa, Ganymede & Callisto orbiting Jupiter. I demand a Smartphonescope.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I guess you are an amateur then. The simple answer is......dynamic range. You are on point about how the end result is now limited to smartphones rather than billboards but even with the best smartphones out there, the lack of dynamic range is immediate. More room for Quality Crop is also a big factor.

99% of people don’t care, fact is dedicated cameras are for professionals or hobbyists.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

I have a feeling AI is going to turn photography on its head and make DSLRs pointless. If I can somehow play the original FF7 with upscaled backgrounds that magically unearth details you couldn't possibly see in the original image, then photos with actual resolution should be cake to enhance.

I'm of the same opinion. When AI tech gets good enough on that level it's game over for most low to mid-tier or even high end cameras.

 

[TrueLegend]

99% of people don’t care, fact is dedicated cameras are for professionals or hobbyists.

99%........That's an assumption without evidence.DR and WB are like 60fps for super casuals. They may no know what is happening but they do prefer it. Many YouTubers have created polls on this. People often select a photo with good WB and DR. Also like I mentioned cropping is still a major thing. Most of the top Instagram accounts are still the ones using pro cameras and not smartphones. But I get the point of the thread, I was only answering op's question. With ML we can get there, it's a matter of when not if.

 

[Susurrus]

Cell phone cameras make it a lot easier to submit my next entry to ratemypoo, thanks to both the excellent camera technology and 5G speeds. And I don't have to carry around a bulky camera everywhere I go.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The laws of physics are immutable. Have you seen the size of a smartphone camera sensor compared to the one in a nice DSLR?

That said, phone cameras are pretty amazing these days and you honestly don't need a big DSLR for your vacation photos and selfies. Pro photographers will still hang a big DSLR around their necks because there's no way to defy the laws of physics.

 

[betrayal]

I'm a professional photographer and yet it pains me to say that Smartphone have surpassed SLR, DSLR, Mirror less cameras in terms of user experience, accessibility and is on par in some sense to quality (given that most photos are viewed on screens and not of phyical prints)

I'm also a big techy and what bothers me is the constant push from phone maker of the camera. It more important than making calls.


We'll never be satisfied with camera improvements.


Or.....


Have phone makers realize that Smartphone tech has peaked and the only way to create excitement is another camera bump.


Maybe what consumers really want is an always connected camera device that t occasionally make phone calls, but Smartcamera doesn't seem profitable

I agree with "smartphone camera is on par in some sense to quality" with absolutely zero percent.

I've been taking a lot of photos with smartphones for years (iPhone, S20U, S21U), but I when I compare the images with those from my full frame camera, you immediately realize how bad smartphone cameras really are. And yes, you can already see these differences in many images even on the small display of a smartphone. Most people who only use smartphones simply have no idea and have never used a good camera. It's also like television back then. Nobody thought about HD when there was only analog TV. But when HD suddenly became available, no one wanted to watch analog TV anymore. It's the same with HD/4K and smartphone cameras/good cameras.

Bokeh, dynamic range, focal length, noise, flares, distortions, details, etc., these are all things that are much better with good cameras.
In practice, many things are simply not possible with smartphone cameras. Sports, wildlife, natural family/party photos (without posing), generally everything that requires higher focal lengths, indoor photography without artificial light and much more. And everything that can be done with a smartphone, a good camera does better.

Of course, this doesn't mean that smartphones can't take good pictures, because ultimately the most important factor for good pictures is not the camera, but the person behind the camera. But even a bad photographer will improve his results enormously if he uses a good camera instead of a smartphone.

The laws of physics are immutable. Have you seen the size of a smartphone camera sensor compared to the one in a nice DSLR?

That said, phone cameras are pretty amazing these days and you honestly don't need a big DSLR for your vacation photos and selfies. Pro photographers will still hang a big DSLR around their necks because there's no way to defy the laws of physics.

DSLRs are gradually being replaced by DSLMs (mirrorless).

Depending on the lens, DSLMs can also be quite compact.

 

[Soodanim]

It doesn’t really follow the thread, but in the last X years I’ve grown an appreciation for analog film. I’ve acknowledged it for video for longer because I miss how films looks and think things are too clean now for the most part, but I do love a photo on film. One of the Reddits I actually like is r/analog

 

[niveaformen]

have an old NEX that I think still holds up well, but as they say, the best camera is the one you have with you. Also that think while sensors may be limited by the size of phones, the AI as somebody mentioned will/has already closed the gap and it will get closer. But yeah, high speed shots, night photography and dynamic range (but phones have been on that for a while to some success) are not quite there in a phone.

 

[betrayal]

have an old NEX that I think still holds up well, but as they say, the best camera is the one you have with you. Also that think while sensors may be limited by the size of phones, the AI as somebody mentioned will/has already closed the gap and it will get closer. But yeah, high speed shots, night photography and dynamic range (but phones have been on that for a while to some success) are not quite there in a phone.

AI will certainly play a big role, but smartphones are still very far from benefiting noticeably from it.

With DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, Luminar AI and some upscaling AI programs, there is good software that improves images, but these programs are enormously CPU/GPU-intensive, which is why they are not available on any smartphone for manual postprocessing.
Even more, probably for many years, they will not be directly integrated into the very intensive automatic post-processing done after taking a picture with one of the camera apps of smartphones, which is almost a must-have for smartphones that have accessibility as their biggest strength. As soon as people have to manually edit their pictures (besides simple filters, colors, light, ...) with AI, they will start to think twice about buying a good camera for photography right away.

And even if integrated AI will exist at some point, the source material is often crucial for the result, and smartphones have to deal with physical limitations that will still apply for a very long time. The discussion about when smartphone cameras will replace DSLR/DSLM is at least 10-15 years too early and may never happen due to physics.

 

[Punished Miku]

As soon as your phone could run a browser as well as your desktop, they peaked.

Really all that's left is creative programs that add value like, maps, voice search, etc. Nothing is changing in the phone itself, and it's been that way for quite a while.

 

[dr_octagon]

it's the convenience factor and camera technology in phones is amazing. it won't compare to proper cameras but they aren't aiming to be a substitute.

just how blu ray has uncompressed audio but people are fine with netflix. wireless headphones won't sound better than wired but they're fine for majority of people.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

I see the difference even on small phone screens. It’s not about resolution, it’s bokeh , compression , DR, WB etc.

A friend has a “portrait” of her on her Xing profile, with that fake ass mobile phone bokeh filter. I felt sick just looking at it…